The Outer Hebrides - The Uists, Benbecula and Eriskay

For some reason when we arrived in North Uist it felt better than Lewis and Harris although the weather was still bad! We based ourselves at a campsite on the west coast adjacent to the Balranald RSPB bird reserve and demounted Muy. Dee went on a guided walk from the RSPB site and learnt a lot about how crofting works on the Hebrides as well as about the wildlife.

Another calm crossing 

We visited another chambered cairn, Barpa Langass, but part of the roof had caved in so unfortunately we couldn't get inside. It looks like a heap of stones but it was there well before the peat and the heather and is about 5000 years old!

Pobull Fhinn stone circle

Delicious local smoked Salmon -
we made the most of numerous packs of this

We found ourselves at the sheep auction

 at Lochmaddy

We visited another Broch but this time with the aid of virtual reality we were able to see what it probably would have looked like - with Purdy in front! It was quite impressive technology.

This is real life

With the aid of VR

Miss P scanning her surroundings

Here we enjoyed some lovey walks around the bird reserve and also the Udal peninsular nearby.

Harvest moon

A 'Wheelhouse' ruin

We often come across abandoned vehicles - there is a scrap
collection scheme on most islands but it doesn't seem to happen!

A brilliant view of a Short Eared Owl from the
truck - we watched him hunting and they are a
beautiful bird.

We moved south through Benbecula (not much to see really) to South Uist and Eriskay. It immediately felt friendlier down in the south - locals putting their hand up when passing on the road etc. Strange how different some places can be. We stayed at the south overlooking the sea beside a cafe - result for Phil as he could have a cooked breakfast!

Friendly ponies grazing on another reserve

There are some beautiful hikes in remote hills
and mountains - no-one at all around

Eriskay, at the very bottom of South Uist, connected by a causeway. It was a lovely place with a nice walk and a perfect beach for a swim. Eriskay is famous for a freight ship called the SS Politician running aground and sinking. The ship was carrying 22000 cases of whisky which the locals extracted from the wreck or collected on the shore washed up (some were imprisoned when they got found out by customs and excise). There is a film called Whisky Galore which is based around this event and was filmed on Barra. We treated ourselves to a pub meal in the Am Politician which overlooks where the ship sank.  

Purdy chilling - Barra in the distance

Eriskay looking north over the causeway to South Uist

Surveying for a swim!

Ready! The tide was fairly out but the
sea was just about deep enough

I think it gets windy here!

While exploring in the truck, we stumbled across a boat trip and was able to join in on the spot. We saw White Tailed Eagle, Golden Eagle and plenty of Dolphins. Such an enjoyable trip as the sea was flat calm and the weather was sunny and warm.

Typical old thatched house with stone weights

There is even the odd wood!

From here we move further south to Barra and Vatersay for the last part of our Outer Hebrides adventure. We have heard a lot of good vibes about Barra from people travelling north so we will wait and see.

The Outer Hebrides - Lewis and Harris

Back on the Scottish mainland we had a stop at Wick Pets at Home for some more food and treats (Woofbrushes) for Purdy with an overnight stay at Fortrose. The next day we visited Fort George on the other side of the Moray Firth and were lucky enough to spot several large pods of Bottlenose Dolphins just off the shore. The fort is still home to the 'Black Watch' regiment (now part of the Royal Regiment of Scotland) so only some of it was accessible.

Suits you Sir!

We travelled to Ullapool for the ferry the next day to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. We had a lovely flat and warm crossing with glimpses of Dolphins and Fin Whales on route.

On entering the Isle of Lewis the weather took a turn for the worse - it had to come! We demounted Muy at a campsite and visited some local sites along the west coast.

Arnol Blackhouse (a traditional dwelling)

Carroway Broch

Callanish Stones (a disappointment!)

A friendly standing stone!

Chessmen everywhere - a hoard of missing pieces from Scandinavian
sets from the 12th century were dug up in Lewis in the 1800s 

Most of Lewis is quite bland, made up from a lot of boggy flat moorland and not very inspiring so with the weather against us as well we quickly moved south to Tarbert in Harris. Harris and Lewis are connected but they are talked about as separate islands. We had a day out driving along a great single track road to Hushinish.

Lovely old building in Tarbert

The road to Hushinish weaves through the grounds of a
castle which is a private residence

Hushinish beach

Lots of rainbows that day!

A walk in search of Eagles togged up in waterproofs!

The Eagle Observatory

We only saw loads of midges - dead luckily but very interesting as they
had all hit the glass whilst in a swarm (and drowned in the condensation).

We did see some young Red deer stags

Lovely Northton beach in South Harris

We liked South Harris better but with the bad weather and nothing to really inspire us we decided to leave earlier than we thought and took our next ferry to North Uist.